Full Breakdown
AI Researchers Take Up Smoking to Signal Faith in Future Cancer Cures
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Development: Smoking as a Symbolic Bet on AI
Palantir chief technology officer Shyam Sankar has said that a subset of artificial-intelligence researchers have begun smoking cigarettes to demonstrate confidence that AI will eventually eradicate cancer. In a recent interview on CBS News’ *Face the Nation*, Sankar described the habit as a “signal” of belief that AI breakthroughs will make smoking-related illnesses obsolete. No specific individuals were named, and no empirical evidence was offered to support the claim that AI research is directly linked to cancer cures.
Background: Tech Culture and Health Trends
Silicon Valley’s wellness culture typically emphasizes sleep tracking, cold-water immersion, and peptide therapies. Business-insider reporting notes a small counter-current in which founders, engineers, and investors adopt cigarettes as a networking tool or a way to appear “relaxed and less polished.” Some participants, such as Avi Schiffmann, founder of the AI-wearable startup Friend, have expressed the view that future AI systems will cure any health damage caused by smoking.
Key Figures
- Shyam Sankar – Chief technology officer of Palantir; argues that smoking serves as a public declaration of faith in AI’s curative potential.
- Avi Schiffmann – Founder of Friend; suggests that AI-driven medical robots will eventually treat lung cancer caused by smoking.
Official Statements & Responses
Sankar’s interview also criticized AI-safety advocates, labeling their concerns as a “mass psychosis” and a “social delusion” surrounding artificial general intelligence (AGI). He invoked philosopher Blaise Pascal’s notion of a “God-shaped hole,” contending that many Silicon Valley technologists have filled that void with a “machine god of AGI.” The remarks were presented without supporting data, and no health-policy officials or medical experts responded to the assertions.
Verbatim Quotes
- “So many AI researchers have started smoking as a way of signaling to other researchers how much they believe in AI,” — Shyam Sankar, to palantir CTO
- “By the time you do get lung cancer, our AI robots are supposed to have cured that,” — Avi Schiffmann, the founder of AI wearable startup Friend, previously
- “I think it's important to understand that many of these folks in Silicon Valley who are building this technology have filled that hole with the machine god of AGI," Sankar said.” — Shyam Sankar, to palantir CTO